Section News

2011-2012

February 26, 2013

A Letter to World Peace Through Law Section Members

Dear World Peace Through Law Section Members:

Here you will find the proposed by-law changes for the World Peace Through Law Section of the WSBA that were proposed and approved by the Executive Committee at our meeting in December 2012. We are requesting that you send in your vote electronically to approve or disapprove of the changes. If approved, the by-laws will be presented to the WSBA for approval by general counsel and will then be forwarded to the Board of Governors for their review and approval.

The substantive changes are as follows:

We revised “Membership” and “Voting Members” in section 3.1 to be more inclusive of current WSBA membership criteria.

We revised “Non-Voting Members” in section 3.1 to give more definition than previous.

We revised “Annual Dues” in section 3.2 to provide more guidance with clearer definition.

We revised “Chair-Elect” in section 4.3 to correct a typographical error.

We revised “Powers and Duties” under Article V: Executive Committee, in section 5.1 to adjust the formatting to include bullets.

We revised “Composition” in section 5.2 to correct a typographical error.

We revised “Nominations” under Article VIII: Elections, in section 8.2 to change the structure of the nominating committee to any member of the Section.

We revised “Amendments” under Article IX: Amendments, in section 9.1 to correct a typographical error.

Respectfully submitted,

Patricia PaulImmediate Past Chair andMember of the Bylaws CommitteeWSBA World Peace Through Law Section

November 15, 2012

The World Peace Through Law Awards Ceremony will be taking place on Wednesday, December 12th at the Century Square Building (Alki Room, 1501 4th Avenue, Seattle). This year's recipients are:

The Ralph Bunche award of the World Peace through Law section has been part of the section's tradition since its founding in the 1970's. The award is given to an individual who has shown substantial contributions toward world peace, international law and international human rights. Ralph Bunche received the Nobel peace prize in 1949, based on his contribution to mediating an armistice in Palestine at the end of the 1948 war, and he also was a major contributor to the draft of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.

Here you will find the proposed by-law changes for the World Peace Through Law Section of the WSBA that were proposed and approved by the Executive Committee at our meeting in February, 2011. We are requesting that you send in your vote electronically to approve or disapprove of the changes. If approved, the by-laws will be presented to the WSBA for approval by general counsel and will then be forwarded to the Board of Governors for their review and approval.

The substantive changes are as follows:

We revised the "Purpose" section in article 2.1 to be more concise.

We corrected the Limitations in article 2.2.

We clarified the membership provision in 3.1 to outline who can be voting v. non-voting members and who can hold elected offices.

We clarified annual dues in 3.2. We defined "Officers" in 4.1 and in 4.2-4.6 defined each officer's title, responsiblities and term of office.

In article 5 we defined the executive comittee, its responsibilities and terms of office, as well as the definition of quorum (5.5) and interim appointments (5.6).

In article 6 we described how committees are appointed and added a Newsletter committee at 6.2.

In article 7.1 we described how general meetings are held and in 7.2 provided how a quorum is constituted.

Article 9 outlines the process for amending by-laws and adds the ability to vote electronically.

Thank you very much, Jana HeydChair, World Peace Through Law Section of the WSBA

Resolution Supporting Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

At its July 23–24, 2010, meeting, the WSBA Board of Governors approved a resolution supporting ratification on the Convention of the Rights of the Child, as proposed by the WSBA World Peace Through Law Section. Look at the text of the resolution.

For the 2011 calendar year, the World Peace Through Law Section continues its outstanding series of seminars on topics of interest and value to our members and others. With a few exceptions, the monthly event is a mini-CLE, which offers 1 CLE credit. Be sure to check our calendar on a regular basis to see what's coming up.